Straight Sets Simon

Grimes kicks into the man on the mark which results in a GWS goal. Turns a free kick into a kick under pressure.

Pedersen kicks into the man on the mark after taking a mark.

Toumpas is the Gibbs of the draft, Wines is the Selwood.

I've been banging on this for a while now, but Melbourne continually put themselves under unnecessary pressure when they take marks / receive free kicks by making the same mistakes over and over again. When Melbourne players take a mark (and there isn't an option to play-on) they often do one of three things: 1) They turn around (facing the backline), slowly jog and then turn back around (to face the forward line). This whole process takes up to three or four seconds which is far too slow, by which time the opposition is able to get back. 2) They immediately run off their line (without even looking straight ahead) which not only means they are now kicking under pressure, they now are running to the side and they can't even see what is down the line or off to the other side. This means they have reduced their options to kick to by 2/3. Not only that, they have eliminated the best option which is to kick straight down the line! 3) They turn around straight away but don't get back far enough behind the man on the mark and either kick into that player or are forced to kick the ball high in the air to clear him. What they need to do is immediately turn around to face the forward line, meaning they can see all options in all areas in front of them, including the best option down the line. The exception to this if a player who is running by can receive a handpass but both players need to be smart enough to know if he is or isn't clear. At the same time the player needs to sprint backwards (not walk, jog or run but sprint). This means there is now zero chance of the man on the mark coming into play as the Melbourne player is back far enough clear of him. Funnily enough, this also means the opposition don't have time to get back, as the Melbourne player with the ball can move the ball on quickly as he has moved quickly to be in a position the kick the ball without pressure. Crazy isn't it? NB: This thread was resurrected from 2013.

Gibbs was rated better than Selwood in junior football.

He has always looked slow and lacked explosiveness, even before 2011.

Gutted he didn't make 100, but still an amazing effort. The way he handled himself was brilliant.

Wines was sensational against Collingwood.

He doesn't excite me at all, I've made that clear. More than happy to be wrong about this one.

I don't want to lose Watts because he has talent, something that is all too rare at Melbourne. I agree that Neeld has done a poor job getting the best out of the players, but by God Watts has put in some insipid soft and weak efforts so far.

If we lost Gawn that would be a massive blow.

I agree. Again it was just rumours but I still don't even know if the kid can play.

Barrett just said rumours are that Caddy won't nominate a club because he is worried the fallout would leave him at Melbourne. Apparently just does not want to come to Melbourne.

Does Morton even have the potential to be any good?

Same as Jack Jack, wow. That was incredible.

What really annoys me about Haddin dropping that catch yesterday is that he was carrying on like an absolute [censored] after he took a couple of regulation catches in the first innings.

Does anyone else find T20 really boring?

The Wire is the greatest show I have ever seen. I have watched every season twice. I've watched little bits of Breaking Bad and Dexter, need to watch more.

The only stat that comes anywhere near representing defensive pressure is the tackle stat. In 2011 Jurrah averaged 2.3 tackles, hardly the worst going around. Yes, he could improve but so could 40 other players on the list. To say that Jurrah "NEVER pulls his weight for the team" is ignorant, disrespectful and wrong. Many of us here are highly critical of our own players, but to question a players commitment to the team like you did is just rubbish.

I'm sorry, but this is the biggest unsubstantiated load of rubbish I have read on Demonland in a very long time, and that is saying something.

"I want to have a competitive team..."

Not at all, just saying these things take time and to not expect too much change straight away. People here are surprised when players come back from their holidays and they haven't improved their fitness on the year before.

To be honest I'm not that excited by 2012. I think any changes Neeld makes will take at least 12 months to take full effect.

I rate Bail higher than Scully now. It kills me to think that we could have Rioli and Martin instead of Scully and Morton.

As a Captain and his attitude towards the game.